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4.52 AVERAGE
4.52 AVERAGE
I did my best to jot down notes while reading this but at a certain point I just let go of my mental engagement and embraced the emotion that comes with reading about death. That being said, the notes that I actually DID get down are as follows;
- It is the fact that every day counts us down that makes each one such a gift. There are only two days with fewer than twenty-four hours in each lifetime, sitting like bookends astride our lives: one is celebrated every year, yet it is the other that makes us see living as precious.
- Reclaiming the language of illness and dying enables us to have simple, unambiguous conversations about death. Allowing each other to discuss dying, rather than treating the D-words as magic ciphers that may cause harm merely by being spoken aloud, can support a dying person in anticipating the last part of their living, in planning ahead in order to prepare their loved ones for bereavement, and can bring the notion of death as the thing that happens at the end of every life back into the realm of the normal. Open discussion reduces superstition and fear, and allows us to be honest with each other at a time when pretence and well-intentioned lies can separate us, wasting time that is very precious.
- ~25% of all deaths are sudden and unexpected
- The rectum has such a rich blood supply that drugs given by this route take effect very quickly
This book was incredible. So many "characters" coming to the end of their arc and this doctor wrote about that end so graciously, reminding us of what's important to all of us, especially as we come to the close of our time here.
- It is the fact that every day counts us down that makes each one such a gift. There are only two days with fewer than twenty-four hours in each lifetime, sitting like bookends astride our lives: one is celebrated every year, yet it is the other that makes us see living as precious.
- Reclaiming the language of illness and dying enables us to have simple, unambiguous conversations about death. Allowing each other to discuss dying, rather than treating the D-words as magic ciphers that may cause harm merely by being spoken aloud, can support a dying person in anticipating the last part of their living, in planning ahead in order to prepare their loved ones for bereavement, and can bring the notion of death as the thing that happens at the end of every life back into the realm of the normal. Open discussion reduces superstition and fear, and allows us to be honest with each other at a time when pretence and well-intentioned lies can separate us, wasting time that is very precious.
- ~25% of all deaths are sudden and unexpected
- The rectum has such a rich blood supply that drugs given by this route take effect very quickly
This book was incredible. So many "characters" coming to the end of their arc and this doctor wrote about that end so graciously, reminding us of what's important to all of us, especially as we come to the close of our time here.
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
It answered questions I didn’t even know I had. Deceptively light touch for difficult subjects, though it is guaranteed to cause some tears at some point in reading. That’s just a sign that you’re alive and have experienced love. I will try to make everyone I know read it. Existential despair has its place, but this is life-affirming and full of warm humanity.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Death, Medical content, Death of parent
challenging
dark
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Everyone should read this book
Thoroughly enjoyed. Eye opening and oddly heart warming. I feel more relaxed about death now.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
I have mixed feelings about this book. Sometimes the stories almost moved me to tears, and I was interested to learn many things about dying and how it often follows a very recognisable pattern. But there are also things that irritated me and make me question elements of the narrative, which of course make me question it all. We are presented with case histories of patients facing the end of their life, how they cope (or don't), and what help Mannix and her team (and others) are able to provide via palliative care. In her introduction, Mannix states that in the book, 'the experience of several people is woven into a single individual's narrative, to allow specific aspects of the journey to be depicted'. And this is my first problem. The narratives feel generic; the people often feel generic, as though all their idiosyncrasies have been sanded down or air-brushed out. They were sometimes 'beautiful' or 'handsome', and none of them seem very real. And secondly, Mannix and all of the wider NHS staff that we meet along the way are nearly all calm and happy and lovely. I know a lot of NHS staff and they are lovely, but they are also often stressed, irritated by patients and managers, despairing of all they are expected to do in so little time for so little money. Clearly, this book isn't about that, but I would have liked the professionals to also have a little more personality too. Despite all that, the idea of this book; the spirit of it makes it worth reading.
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
As a former Hospice volunteer, palliative nurses and doctors do amazing work. If you are journeying with a dying person or in the dying process yourself, this book will help provide practical and compassionate guidance.